


Rapture

by Megane



Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bonding, Complicated Relationships, Dancing, Experimental Style, Feelings, Feelings Realization, Introspection, Magic, Pre-Relationship, Short & Sweet, Soul Bond, This Tagging is Deceptive Because I'm Too Frazzled to Think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:08:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29687886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megane/pseuds/Megane
Summary: Andrea had told Cloud that his style of fighting relied on having a good connection with his partner. Though he was happy enough with what they had already, he was happy when Cloud took him up on his offer to practice together. But now the time finally came for them to make things... real. Would Cloud step up or would this be a one man show?He got his answer when he heard a knock at the door.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Rapture

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know how to tag this. I'm sorry for how manic this all is; it's been that sort of day, and that's the energy I'm bringing into this fic.

Cloud knows that it won’t blow up in his. Dancing with Andrea, that is. The other man had told him the score and said that Cloud was more than welcome to make a routine with him. But it was also okay if it didn’t happen. _“Having you around just to watch is as much of a moral support I need,”_ Andrea had said to him. But Cloud didn’t want to sit idly by on the sidelines. He wanted to help. He wanted to be a part of something. He wanted to be with Andrea—

In… in this. Of course.

_He wasn’t going to give himself time to think about it._

Instead, he rapped his knuckles against the wooden door, his sneakers already held in one hand, and waited for Andrea’s “Come in” before entering. Yeah, this was a dance studio, alright. For some reason, Cloud thought everything would have changed in his perspective. He thought that the walls would have felt closer, the ceiling lower — everything claustrophobic. Or maybe he was expecting things to get hotter, for the room to suddenly be filled with people watching him, Tifa and maybe some others all posted up in various parts of the room attentive. Waiting to laugh.

But it was just Andrea in the frankly massive space. One wall was entirely made of rectangular mirrors with a light wood bar stretching across its length. Without thinking, Cloud closed the door behind him. Andrea was stretching, but he lifted his head to smile at Cloud in the mirror. Cloud found Andrea’s things and set his own beside them. The duffle bag felt heavier coming off.

“I’m happy you’re here.”

And there’s a measure of surprise in Andrea’s voice that doesn’t escape Cloud’s notice. There was always surprise, always a fondness too, whenever Cloud showed up ready to dance. Maybe not “ready”, maybe never _“ready”_ , but willing at the very least. Andrea slid his legs together and stood up with a slight hop. He dusted off his backside before doing the same with his hands. He walked over to Cloud and placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing there slightly.

“Warm up?” he asked, voice lilting almost sweetly.

Cloud nodded his head to the place where Andrea was before sighing out, “Yeah.” He left Andrea’s grip and walked over alone, he noticed. He looked into the mirror and saw the dancer grab his water bottle. He supposed that was fair. Warming up wouldn’t take too long either way, but Cloud saw no reason to rush. And neither did Andrea because he walked over to the stereo to take out the burned CD with songs Cloud had chosen. There was only one track that felt right to both of them. Andrea popped in the CD and waited.

When Cloud was done, Andrea navigated to the track prior to the one they needed and pressed play. With that, he walked back over to the blond and held out his hands. Cloud took them, the motion familiar at this point. Andrea brought their joined hands up, his hands facing Cloud, Cloud’s facing him. There was a squeeze, more adoration on Andrea’s end probably, but it was an important focal point in what they were doing. Even without the materia, Cloud could already feel their bond at work. Andrea’s gaze was heavy without being crushing. The sheer presence of him was enough to ground Cloud in the moment.

“This is it, Cloud,” Andrea said reverently. His voice felt like it was echoing, even with the music playing over them. “Are you sure about this? There’s no going back.”

Cloud closed his eyes briefly, wanting to live in this headiness for a moment longer before he found himself. He opened his eyes, filled with a stark determination, and met Andrea’s gaze once more. “‘m ready.”

“Then let’s go over this one last time. When you sink, remember to keep your focus. If you stop for even one moment, you will drown. If you break your concentration for a second, you _will_ be lost.” Andrea squeezed Cloud’s hand again. Reassurance. _Focus_. “I will do my best to recover you, but understand that that process can take days. Even I can’t know what will happen to you.”

“I’m not worried,” Cloud replied calmly. Some of the tension eased out of Andrea’s body; a smile set upon his lips, reflecting on Cloud’s like the mirrors at their sides. “We’ve got this, right?”

“Right.” Andrea brought their hands closer and kissed Cloud’s knuckles. Afterward, he stepped closer and touched his forehead to Cloud’s. There was a change in the atmosphere as their eyes drifted closed. [The song was changing](https://open.spotify.com/track/1BncfTJAWxrsxyT9culBrj?si=ovpE2K6-TDu6FhiiX5JtwA). Cloud felt a sudden need to take in a deep breath; air filled his lungs as if for the first time. _“Then I beseech you. Share this dance with me.”_

Cloud felt the swell of the music in his bones as another need to breathe took him. It was quieter this time, making his body sway. When he opened his eyes, he knew what he had to do. He took the first step backwards, and Andrea matched him. Just as they had practiced.

Their fingers were slow to part, their gazes slower still. The first turn was synchronised with both of them pulling apart like water. Cloud’s arms swayed over his head as his body tilted to the left. Andrea mirrored him by going to the right. They drew back towards the center before kicking a foot backwards, sliding with the motion. Cloud’s arms swung down across his stomach, one hand holding his hip and the other fanned out at his side. He watched himself in the mirror whenever he could, keeping his focus. Beside him, Andrea noted their movements. Everything was sharp when need be with that added softness and flow when the mood demanded. It was a build up. Cloud’s hands slid up along his face, fingers threading in his hair as his head rolled backwards. His eyes fell closed, and he could feel his heart beating with Andrea’s. One heart, one mission. At once, as the violins began to cry, he and Cloud rounded their arms for the first pirouette.

 _“Up, down. Up, down,”_ Andrea muttered to the crests and falls.

The next movement was quick, following the lowering of the cello as they crossed each other. The twirl was sharp, a snap of movement. Andrea’s fluidity had been gained from experience, but Cloud’s was made from desire, passion. Andrea smiled to himself as he extended his arm out to his side, reaching towards an uncaring sky. He wondered what fueled Cloud so. He wasn’t naive enough to think it was him.

But he was romantic enough to.

 _“Up, down. Up, down,”_ he said breathily, each time the moment needed it. His voice was authoritative, keeping Cloud on focus, on rhythm, on this same plane. It would be a beautiful tragedy to lose him this way, but their exchange was crisp in his mind.

_I’m not worried. We got this, right?_

_Right._

Andrea wasn’t going to let him down now. He looked to Cloud suddenly and opened out his hand, never missing his cue. Cloud took it, and they swung, shifting places once — twice, building up the connection. It was hot in the room, and the demanding movements of their bodies was making it worse. But Andrea didn’t complain, and Cloud didn’t either.

The blond spun and lowered himself down to the ground, extending as he knocked his fists to the floor, keeping himself in tempo. It was a beautiful scene, one Andrea would have painted had he the skill. Instead, his hands went up high, begging silently for a mercy that was not yet needed. He crossed his arms over himself, the backs of his hands sliding down his cheeks, and his arms uncrossed, whipping out to his sides. He looked down at Cloud, watching as the blond lifted himself up.

They moved like tortured muses. Retribution, chastisement. Fury, shame. _Up, down. Up, down._ The room around them darkened, the temperature cooling as well. Cloud felt distant from himself, his mind being pulled by cotton. He could hear his own ragged breathing; his ears felt _hot_ , but he wouldn’t stop now. Even when he pushed himself up and pushed himself to the brink, he kept his pirouettes sharp, his crests and falls on beat.

 _Up, down. Up, down_.

Neither of them were aware of how they spoke the words in unison, had been with growing intensity for several steps now. The words were a curse that compelled him and a reminder that saved him. Cloud _breathed_ to their cadence. Even as those spotlights in Andrea’s domain fell upon them, he never strayed. He felt a hand curl around his wrist, and Andrea pulled him closer. They spun in a dervish, their eyes never once leaving each other as the heat now centralised to the tether keeping them together, holding them close. There was a desperation her to make this work, to not fail. To never fail again — and they wouldn't, not at this. Not while they were together.

“Up, down. Up, down,” Cloud whispered, unaware of himself as he did. The rise to the tips of their toes and the fall to the pads of their feet as they spun in the endless darkness. Their spotlights connected before splitting again when they parted. Cloud rose up to the balls of his feet, twirling with his hands in his hair before opening out, throwing his head back and keeping himself in action. He was dizzy when he finally stopped, but he could dance with his eyes closed. He kept his focus; the nausea could wait for later.

He waved his hands out and pushed forward, opening his eyes again. There was a greyish flash in his eyes and a mako blue in Andrea’s as he mirrored the same movement. Cloud clutched his fingers in thin air, drawing his fist against his chest, banging it to the beat as he swayed left and right. There was an effort on his face, but he swung his feet hand out, glaring into the darkness beyond his light.

Even here, he could feel that song in his heart; he knew it like a childhood memory. He had lived it in the hours at Andrea’s studio. He practiced at home above the bar after it closed. He heard Tifa humming it one day while she was polishing glasses. Denzel and Marlene had taken to watching him perfect turns, playfully mimicking his posture and moves even though they didn’t know what it was for.

It was always for this.

He and Andrea were like two stars colliding at times; there were other points where they flew into each other’s orbits, merely dancing by without much attention for the other. Cloud hooked his arm around Andrea’s middle, and the other man flipped backwards, steadied by his grasp. The mantra of their bond sang out to the song that had marked them both.

They held each other as if they were preparing for a true waltz, but then Cloud dipped forward into an arabesque. Andrea followed when he stood upright again, Cloud tilting with him as he had been guided before. _Up, down. Up, down._

It felt more real now than it did when they started. That heat, that connection. It had been strengthening over time with their practice, but this was the real deal. Cloud felt as if he had crossed a bridge into a world full of light. The realisation had him press himself close to Andrea’s body, a finger running down along the man’s beard. Andrea loosely held his wrist and merely watched him adoringly.

It was hard to believe that that look was for him. Only for him, always for him.

They were holding each other’s gaze as the song ended. Cloud wasn’t aware of when it did, but his body knew. His deeper instincts knew. And around them, the dance studio was back again just as it had been before. Andrea smiled and let out a soft laugh, almost afraid of breaking the moment.

“We did it.”

Cloud nodded his head slightly, feeling that same trepidation. One heart, one mind now. The tether felt unbreakable. “Yeah. We did.”

**Author's Note:**

> Soundtrack : "Experience" - Ludovico Einaudi


End file.
